1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the general field of energy generation systems, and more particularly to control methods for distributed systems of turbogenerators.
2. Description of the Prior Art
While a 30 kW generator may be more than enough power for a typical home, larger facilities will need some method of connecting multiple systems together to form a single, larger generator. A typical home consumes somewhere in the range of 4 kW to 6 kW of peak power. In this instance, a single 30 kW turbogenerator or other power generator could support the power requirements of multiple homes. Businesses, such as a convenience store, requiring 60 kW, 100 kW or more, may require multiple 30 kW generators to provide the required power.
It is more desirable to interface with one generator rather than sequencing several smaller generator sets to provide the required power. A large motor load of 60 kW would require at least two 30 kW generator sets in order to provide the necessary power. These units would manually have to be sequenced and have their output contactors closed simultaneously through user command to commence power output. To integrate power generation into a larger control system, communications would have to be established from the main control computer to each individual generator. Operation is made simpler by combining multiple single generators into a single large generator system.
Connecting multiple systems requires communications in order to synchronize both operation and power generation. In order to connect multiple generator-systems together, issues must be addressed such as starting, output contact closure, and power produced by each generator system. These issues require some form of communication between the individual units in the pack. In the past, this has been accomplished through the use of analog wires. The system discussed herein accomplishes this through digital communications including a 10Base-2 bus for control and sequence and an RS-485 bus for synchronization of the power output.
Communications used to gang a multi-generator system together often have length limitations that must be overcome by repeaters or routers. While 10base-2 and RS-485 communications provide the benefits of isolation in a power generation system, both have maximum length requirements. These maximum communication length requirements will in turn limit the number of systems that can be ganged together in multiple system configurations. Line lengths can span 15 to 20 ft or more between systems, eating up these maximum length requirements very quickly.
Control algorithms and communications will create processing bandwidth limitations. Often micro-controllers that are designed to perform control system functions may not have intensive communications capabilities such as Dynamic Memory Access (DMA). Most processing time will be utilized to execute the controls of the primary system (i.e. MicroTurbine functions, including power and fuel control). Processing throughput or managing and communicating with sub-systems then becomes limited. A single system will only have enough processing power to make decisions, communicate, and verify the response for a limited number of systems. While the communications media might contain enough bandwidth, the processing will be limited.
Therefore, what is needed is a method of distributing the communications and processing in order to provide control above some number of units. Because there will be processing and communication distance limitations, at some point a system should act as a router. It will be responsible for receiving commands and then distributing the commands to some number of sub-systems. Those systems may pass commands on in turn.
In a first aspect, the present disclosure provides an energy generation network including a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements; and a plurality of control systems for controlling the plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements; and a communication network interconnecting the plurality of control systems and the plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements.
In another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of distributing communications and processing in an energy generation network including the steps of providing a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and providing a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements; and monitoring one or more operating parameters for one or more of a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements; and determining energy demands; and generating system commands; and transmitting system commands from a superior energy generating element in a system or subsystem of energy generating elements to each inferior energy generating element in the system or subsystem of energy generating elements.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides for an energy generation network including a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements, such that an energy generating element is connected only to one superior energy generating element and may be connected to one or more inferior energy generating elements; and a plurality of control systems for controlling the plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements wherein the control system for an energy generating element monitors only itself and any inferior energy generating elements; and a communication network interconnecting the plurality of control systems and the plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides a method of distributing communications and processing in an energy generation network including the steps of providing a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and providing a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements, such that an energy generating element is connected only to one superior energy generating element and may be connected to one or more inferior energy generating elements; and determining energy demands; and monitoring operating parameters for the energy generating elements of a subsystem of energy generating elements; and generating total operating parameter information for the subsystem of energy generating elements; and generating system commands for the subsystem of energy generating elements based on the total operating parameter information for the subsystem of energy generating elements and energy demand; and monitoring the total operating parameter information for the subsystems of energy generating elements in a system of subsystems of energy generating elements; and generating total operating parameter information for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements; and generating system commands for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements based on the total operating parameter information for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements and energy demand; and transmitting system commands from a superior energy generating element in a system or subsystem of energy generating elements to each inferior energy generating element in the system or subsystem of energy generating elements.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an energy generation network including a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements; and means for monitoring one or more operating parameters for one or more of a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements; and means for determining energy demands; and means for generating system commands; and means for transmitting system commands from a superior energy generating element in a system or subsystem of energy generating elements to each inferior energy generating element in the system or subsystem of energy generating elements.
In yet another aspect, the present disclosure provides an energy generation network including a plurality of energy generating elements capable of receiving system commands, generating system commands, and distributing system commands; and a plurality of systems and subsystems of energy generating elements, organized using subsets of the plurality of energy generating elements, such that an energy generating element is connected only to one superior energy generating element and may be connected to one or more inferior energy generating elements; and means for determining energy demands; and means for monitoring operating parameters for the energy generating elements of a subsystem of energy generating elements; and means for generating total operating parameter information for the subsystem of energy generating elements; and means for generating system commands for the subsystem of energy generating elements based on the total operating parameter information for the subsystem of energy generating elements and energy demand; and means for monitoring the total operating parameter information for the subsystems of energy generating elements in a system of subsystems of energy generating elements; and means for generating total operating parameter information for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements; and means for generating system commands for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements based on the total operating parameter information for the system of subsystems of energy generating elements and energy demand; and means for transmitting system commands from a superior energy generating element in a system or subsystem of energy generating elements to each inferior energy generating element in the system or subsystem of energy generating elements.
These and other features and advantages of this invention will become further apparent from the detailed description and accompanying figures that follow. In the figures and description, numerals indicate the various features of the invention, like numerals referring to like features throughout both the drawings and the description.